


Year 5 - A Snape and Harry Love Story

by Science_of_Life



Series: A Slightly Different Love Story [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gay Harry Potter, Gay Severus Snape, Hogwarts Fifth Year, M/M, Nice Severus Snape, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:06:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22619827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Science_of_Life/pseuds/Science_of_Life
Summary: Harry starts his fifth year at Hogwarts but this time he won't just take the shit they are throwing at him. After Umbridge tortured him with her special quill he goes to Dumbledore to tell him about it. However the Headmaster doesn't want to listen but fortunately for Harry someone else does.This is a story of how Snape and Harry fall in love with each other. Everything that happened in the first four years is canon conform but here I slightly changed the plot but major points will still happen. I also mixed the book with the movie and sort of made my own thing.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Series: A Slightly Different Love Story [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627411
Comments: 15
Kudos: 253





	Year 5 - A Snape and Harry Love Story

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys.  
> I hope you are going to enjoy this fic. This is a real slow burn so don't expect anything to happen right from the beginning.  
> As Harry is still underage I kept the romance that is happening here to a minimum but that will change in the next fic. So yeah, this is going to be a series but I haven't even started with the next part, so it could take a while.  
> Anyway enjoy and leave comments and kudos if you liked it and tell me if anything needs changing. I don't have a beta and english is not my first language but I hope I made a decent job.  
> Love you guys <3
> 
> I don't own any of the characters or the plot except the parts I changed. I don't make any money with this, this is just for my own and your enjoyment.

Harry was angry...No, Harry was furious! At first that pink toad wanted to sabotage his hearing at the ministry, then he had to find out that the ministry sent her to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him and Dumbledore and that she would be the new teacher in Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was fun seeing Snape’s face at the announcement and during Umbridge’s speech but that was the end of his humour. The very first lesson Harry already found himself in the unfortunate situation of getting detention from the pink devil.  
Harry served his fair share of detentions during the first four years at Hogwarts but this was something else. Umbridge didn’t make him scrub dirty cauldrons like Snape or sign fan mail like Lockhart, no this was something else entirely. It was torture.  
After the pink lady let him leave he didn’t know where to go. His first instinct was to just go back to his common room, ignore what happened and study with Ron and Hermione. His other option was to go to Dumbledore and tell him everything in the hopes that he could do something against Umbridge but then again the Headmaster did everything he could to stay away from Harry so why would he let him into his office now?  
Harry looked around and tried to decide which way to go. None of his two options appeared to be too favourable but he decided that he had to do at least something. What if Umbridge ends up hurting one of the first-years? They would be traumatised and Harry couldn’t allow that to happen. He turned and headed towards the Headmaster’s office, climbing the steps until he arrived at the Gargoyle where he tried the password that he used the last time in the hopes Dumbledore hadn’t changed it. “Sherbet lemon!”  
The Gargoyle blinked at him once and then opened up the way for him. Harry went upstairs and since he was still livid he barged into the office without knocking on the door. Dumbledore looked startled when Harry entered and the young wizard took satisfaction in it because for once he surprised the all-knowing man. His triumph didn’t last long because the back of his hand started to hurt again. He walked over to the desk where Dumbledore was sitting and looked him deeply in the eyes to ensure the old man would understand how serious he was before he began to talk. “Professor I need to talk to you about Professor Umbridge. It’s worse than you might think, she...” Harry began but Dumbledore interrupted him.  
“It can’t be that bad Harry. Just lay low and everything will be fine. You should go now, my boy. It won’t do any good if she would find out that you were here.” Dumbledore smiled slightly at him with a small twinkle in his eyes. This twinkle set Harry off even more, it made it appear as if everything was a big joke for Dumbledore.  
“Fine? Do you have any idea what’s going on in this school? In class she’s not teaching us anything! She makes us read books and write parchments but we’re not allowed to use any spells. How are we supposed to learn anything about defending ourselves in this impending war? How are we supposed to survive this without anyone showing us how? I saw him coming back! I saw how strong he is thanks to my blood running through his veins! We need someone who is capable of teaching us!” Harry nearly yelled at Dumbledore. He was breathing harshly when he was finished, glaring at the old wizard. Dumbledore looked taken aback at his outburst.  
“You should not talk to the Headmaster like that, Potter!” A deep baritone voice drawled from out of the shadows in the office. Harry turned around quickly to face the man standing now right behind him.  
“Professor Snape? How long have you been here?” Harry asked bewildered, taking a step back from the man.  
“This whole time. After all it was you who so rudely interrupted my discussion with the Headmaster.” Snape sneered at him.  
“Now, now Severus. I’m sure he’s just stressed from all the learning. You should both go know.” Dumbledore exclaimed, making clear that it wasn’t a request.  
Snape and Harry looked at each other for a short moment before they both walked towards the exit. As soon as they stood outside, the door closed behind them, a particular painful sensation shot through the scars on his hand and Harry gasped quietly. It was loud enough for Snape to hear though.  
“What is it Potter? Bruised ego?” Snape mocked him.  
“No...sir.” He clenched his teeth.  
“Show me.” The Professor exclaimed and held out his hand. Harry hesitated but then put his hand in the larger one before him and began studying the floor. Snape’s hands felt surprisingly soft but strong and the young wizard jumped a bit when he felt a finger brush over the written words on the back of his hand.  
“What did this? I sense dark magic but it’s nothing I’ve seen before.”  
“A quill. She made me write this sentence over and over again and it was cut into my skin. At first it healed over but it got worse and in the end it just stayed. It’s not that bad though.” Harry explained and pulled his hand back and hid it away in his robe. Snape looked at him and contemplated for a while before he asked: “Is she really not teaching you anything?”  
Harry’s head shot up at the question and he looked at the man in front of him, really looked at him. His face showed the usual hard lines, his stance was as tense as always but there was something in those black eyes that Harry recognised as something akin to softness. The look in Snape’s eyes however was gone as quickly as it came and Harry couldn’t be sure if it was there in the first place but he decided to be honest to the man anyway. “No. That’s why I came here but the Headmaster’s been ignoring me. He won’t do anything, will he?”  
“No, I presume he won’t.” Snape began and before he could stop himself he said something he regretted right away. “But I can help you. I will teach you everything you need to know but you have to promise me to work hard and not do anything to piss me off.”  
Harry blinked at him, clearly surprised by what he just heard but he knew this was a one-time offer. He didn’t have to think for long, he and Snape never liked each other but the man was clearly experienced and had a lot of knowledge that would help Harry a lot and maybe even safe his life. “Yes, thank you sir. I promise I will do anything you say.”  
Snape really thought he had a fit of insanity when he made that offer but when he saw the hope in Harry’s eyes he could see how it was the right thing to do. “Right. But you can not tell anyone about this! This information could make both our lifes a living hell.” Snape told him sternly. “Training starts tomorrow. Come down to the dungeons. We will meet in my classroom.” With this he turned around and walked away, his robe fluttering behind him.  
Harry took a second to clear his head a bit and then walked away as well, back towards the Gryffindor common room.

The last night was quite uneventful after he returned from the Headmaster’s office, Hermione tried to ask him what happened and he just told her that he had to write parchments of boring stuff and she and Ron believed him. He went directly to bed, mentally preparing for the next day.  
Classes went as usual, some of it boring, others more or less interesting and he even got his obligatory insults from both Draco and Snape.  
After he was done with his homework and studying for the day it was time for dinner and afterwards he was supposed to meet with Snape for his first lesson. He had mixed feelings about it all, he was excited that he would learn new things from a Master of the Dark Arts but he was a bit afraid that it was Snape. They never liked each other and now he offered to teach him voluntarily and Harry didn’t know what to think about that. He knew Snape was part of the Order and that he was spying for them but was he really a good enough person to push their differences aside for the greater good?  
All these things were running through his head and he barely could eat anything because he was so nervous. His friends already looked a bit weirdly at him because he didn’t say one word to them since they arrived at the Great Hall but he just couldn’t help it. After taking one last bite he stood up and excused himself and told them that he would go and study somewhere alone for a while. His friends shared a look but they let him go without saying anything else.  
He made his way down to the dungeons and stopped in front of Snape’s classroom. He contemplated whether he should go ahead and knock on the door or run away and hide in his room. It took some of his Gryffindor bravery but eventually he knocked on the door and was surprised that Snape opened it right away. They looked at each other until the Professor finally stepped aside and let him enter. Harry walked inside the room and then turned around to look at his teacher. Snape looked the other up and down and then motioned for his student to follow him through a hidden door into a huge room with a platform for duelling, a corner with mats and a punching bag and a spot with weights and exercise equipment was standing around. Harry looked around the room, gaping at everything that he found. He never thought that Snape would be someone to work out but here they were.  
“Well Potter. You can put your robe down and then come over here, we’ll start with duelling. Let’s see what you already know.” Snape put down his own robe and stepped up on the platform. Harry looked a bit uncertain but then followed suit. He stepped up opposite the Potions Master and took out his wand when Snape drew his own.  
“You will attack and I will defend and offer improvements to your technique. Start with something small and work your way up to the more difficult spells.” The Professor told him and Harry only nodded before taking on a proper stance.  
He looked up towards Snape and cast a quick Expelliarmus which was instantly deflected by his teacher. Snape looked at him with a weird look in his eyes and Harry knew immediately that the man was thinking about the last time Harry cast that spell on him in the Shrieking Shack. The young man looked away slightly embarrassed and tried desperately to find something to say but Snape was faster.  
“You should flick your wand in smaller movements, it would be more efficient and your opponent might not have enough time to defend himself. Try again!”  
Harry nodded and then concentrated on the task before him. They did the same thing a few more times with various spells. Harry cast them and Snape would always give him some sort of advice that would help him until he mastered it to the Professor’s satisfaction.  
After two hours of flinging spells through the room Harry was panting heavily, his shirt wet with sweat and even Snape seemed to be a bit out of breath. The older man cast a quick tempus and finished their lesson for today.  
“Thank you sir. That was really helpful.” Harry grabbed his robe and turned to leave the room but was stopped by Snape’s voice. “We will meet again tomorrow after lunch. Bring some sweatpants, we will work on your strength. When you want to beat the Dark Lord you not only need the knowledge and mental capability to do so but you also need the physical strength to survive the oncoming war. After that we will alternate between casting spells and building up your strength.” Snape told him and then dismissed Harry with a small wave of his hand.  
Harry left with a small smile on his face and went directly back to the common room, barely making it before curfew. Only a few students were sitting around, mostly ignoring him. He went up to his room, grabbed everything he needed for a shower but he was stopped by Ron. “Hey mate. Where have you been? You look like you’ve been through a whole Quidditch match.” He joked.  
“I was just working out Ron. I need to be fit for this season, right?” Harry lied to him with a smile on his lips. Ron just nodded and then turned back to his chess game with Neville. Harry hated lying to his friends but if that was the price he had to pay in order for his lessons with Snape to continue he would do it. After his shower Ron and he had a small chat and then they went to bed with Harry looking forward to his lesson the next day.

It was a day as usual but Harry didn’t care about that. He was only focusing on getting through the day as fast as possible and without getting detention. In Snape’s class however he payed attention and for the first time since he started at Hogwarts he seemed to understand the concept of brewing. He found that it was very much like cooking, like the blending of different herbs and spices to create something bigger, something fantastic. He found that it was actually interesting when you put aside the differences with the teacher. At the end of the lesson he actually managed to brew a reasonably good potion and even Snape seemed to be surprised for a second.  
After lunch he again made his way down to the dungeons with a pair of sweatpants and a shirt in his bag. He knocked on the door without hesitation this time and Snape opened it a few moments later. The man stepped aside and Harry followed him into the same room as the day before.  
“You did well in my class today. How come?” Were the first words Snape directed at him while they were both shedding their robes.  
“You want to know the truth?” Harry looked at him, assessing whether he could trust him or not.  
“You don’t have to tell me but in contrast to what everyone thinks of me I do care how my students are doing in my classes and when someone improves like that I would like to know how.” Snape looks back at Harry while slipping out of his coat and revealing a crisp white shirt.  
“After yesterday’s lesson here I started to change my mind about you. Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought as a teacher and I decided to give your potion’s class a chance. And maybe I thought it wasn’t that bad. It’s a bit like cooking and that’s actually one of the only things I enjoyed doing for the Dursleys.” The younger shrugged.  
“What do you mean `one of the only things you enjoyed´? I presume you had a great childhood as the saviour of our world.” Snape sneered the last part and Harry began to close off again.  
“Great childhood? Yeah right. Whatever you say. If you think starving and getting beaten is part of a great childhood then yeah, mine was fantastic!” Harry growled back. He didn’t mean to say all that but for some reason it just came out of his mouth. He never really told anyone before but he was sure at least some people noticed that he was way too thin when he returned to school each year. They never saw the scars and he was glad that he could hide them most of the time or just say they were from one of his many encounters with Voldemort.  
“Beaten?” Snape asked slowly.  
“Just forget what I just said. Can we start now?” Harry asked with a sigh and Snape just nodded, slipping back into his usual teacher stance.  
As soon as Harry had changed into his clothes he joined Snape on the mats by the punching bag.  
“We will start with the basics. I want you to take a fighting stance and then we will work on different punching techniques.” Snape explained to him and Harry was glad that he had changed the subject without asking any further questions.  
Snape showed him how to place his feet so that his weight was balanced in a way that he could be quick on his feet. Afterwards he showed Harry how to hold his hands to protect his head and to not hurt his hands and wrists when he would punch. Snape made some handwraps wind around their hands and then Harry and Snape punched alternately at the bag with different combinations and Snape improved his movements whenever he saw necessary.  
The first time Harry felt Snape’s warm hands on his shoulders he jumped but he let the man turn his upper body a bit more to the side. Snape always appeared to be angry and cold but here with Harry he showed a whole other side of him. And for some reason Harry liked that new Snape. He didn’t know if he could ever forget everything that happened between them but if the two of them could continue like that, Harry would gladly call him an ally and maybe even a friend.  
After an hour of training Snape stopped their session to levitate some mats to the middle of the room. He motioned for Harry to come over and then explained what they would do next: “We will do a little sparring. I’ll wear target gloves and tell you the combinations.”  
Harry nodded and then took on the stance Snape showed him earlier and waited for the commands.  
“Left, right!” - “Again!” - “Again!” - “And duck!” The Professor used one of his gloves to aim at Harry’s head but the younger had fast enough reflexes to duck underneath it.  
“Good, Potter. Now left, right, left!” And on it went.  
They trained for another hour and then their time was up.  
“Professor, can I ask you a question?” Harry dared to ask when he was putting his clothes back on.  
“What is it?”  
“Why are you doing this? Helping me? I mean I know you are in the Order and you’re helping us but you don’t have to give me extra lessons, so why?” Harry asked.  
Snape sighed deeply but he knew he owed the man an answer. “Harry, I told you before that I care about my students whether I like them or not. But the both of us have a big role to play in this war and if I can give you knowledge to improve our chances to survive, than I will do it.” Snape told him.  
“Harry.” The young man muttered.  
“What was that?” Snape questioned while he put away the equipment.  
“You called me Harry.”  
“Well, that’s your name isn’t it?” Snape asked confused.  
“Yes, but you never call me that. You call me Potter or `the Chosen One´.” Harry said and Snape contemplated what he should say but Harry stopped his thoughts with another question. “Why do you hate me sir?”  
Snape’s head shot up at that and he looked into Harry’s green, honest eyes. “I don’t exactly hate you Po- Harry. When you showed up here I just saw your father in everything you were doing. And then the knowledge of how sheltered and pampered you grew up, I just saw what I wanted to see. And your behaviour towards me didn’t help either. But apparently everything I was told about you was wrong. As I have seen these past two days you can be a hard working and respectful young man and I do want to help you and stand by your side against Voldemort.”  
“Thank you and I would be honoured to have you fight by my side.” Harry replied. He let the comment about his father slide even though he would like to hear more about him but he could hear that Snape wasn’t exactly a fan of his father’s. With that he left to go to his dorm and take a shower but when he entered the common room he was confronted by Ron and Hermione.  
“Harry, where have you been?” Hermione asked with her arms crossed over her chest and Ron stood behind her with an uncomfortable look on his face.  
“Really? I can’t do anything without your approval?” Harry’s good mood was gone and he was sweaty and just wanted to take a shower.  
Hermione was taken aback by Harry’s outburst and became unsure. “Of course you can do whatever you want but this is the second time that you leave after lunch and then come back completely sweaty. What’s going on with you?”  
“I’m working out alright?”  
“Working out?” Hermione asked skeptically.  
“Yes, I’m working out and I will continue to do so. Alone.” Harry stressed the last word to make it clear that they would not join him. He stepped around them and climbed the stairs to his room and the showers.

The next few days were more or less calm. The students tried to avoid Umbridge’s detentions which worked for some more than others, Harry became better at Potions each lesson and the training with Snape progressed very well. Harry learned how to improve his spells and even learned some more from the Professor. Harry had never realised how much a proper stance or his hand movement could affect his spells. But then there was the business with the Daily Prophet and his classmates talking behind his back but he learned to ignore them quite well and having Hermione and Ron defending him definitely helped. His two best friends even accepted his new habit of working out as long as he would still spend time with them.  
So all in all things were good until...yeah until Dolores Umbridge was appointed to be High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. From then on everything went to hell. Umbridge went ahead to evaluate every teacher and to his own astonishment Harry wanted to furiously defend Snape when the pink turd came into their class. Ron began to snicker at the witch’s accusations and the least Harry could do was punch him in the leg under the table and then went on staring angrily at Umbridge.  
That evening Harry found Snape in the training room already hitting at the punching bag. The young wizard slipped out of his robe and went slowly over to the mats to join his teacher.  
“Professor?” Harry asked carefully.  
“Yes Harry?” Snape growled before punching again. The Professor had taken on calling him by his first name ever since their little talk and Harry enjoyed hearing his name in Snape’s deep baritone voice.  
“Are you alright sir?”  
“Yes, I am quite alright.” Snape snapped back.  
“Right. I’m sure you are sir, but I know how much Umbridge can grate on one's nerves.”  
“What do you know Potter?”  
Harry slightly gritted his teeth upon hearing his last name again. Snape turned towards him with a blazing fire in his eyes and Harry looked him in the eye. “I was on the receiving end of her accusations as well as her punishments as you know. You might be as much as a threat to her as Dumbledore and I so she won’t let you off the hook so easily. There will be more.” Harry warned.  
“I did not become a teacher to deal with the insane delusions of the Ministry. I have enough to deal with the crazy visions of a madman who calls himself the Dark Lord.” Snape growled.  
“Yeah, tell me about it.” Harry offered him a smile.  
“Right. Now let’s get with it.”  
Harry and Snape went through a little warm up, punched alternately at the bag and then went over to hand to hand combat. Over the past few days they choreographed a sort of routine for their fights so that none of them could get seriously injured but they still get some hits in.  
Their training was long and hard but Harry felt a lot better when they were finished, as usual. He relished in feeling exhausted like that and feeling every muscle in his body scream. It was the sort of pain that made him feel alive and good, so very different from the pain he felt when the Dursley’s hit and neglected him.  
“Thank you.” He said. taking a huge gulp from his water bottle.  
“No problem Harry. I actually do enjoy this you know?” Snape said and then, as if he had just realised what he’d said looked a bit horrified.  
“It’s alright sir. I do to. Good night.” Harry smiled and then left to get back to his dorm before curfew.

The next day Hermione lured Harry into a trap and actually managed to persuade him to form a student group called Dumbledore's Army. He would be the teacher for all the students willing to learn new defense techniques and due to Snape’s lessons he felt quite confident to do so. The problem now was to find a room for them to train in since he could hardly ask Snape if they could use his.  
Thankfully Neville eventually made the discovery of the Room of Requirements and they set up their lessons for the weekends after lunch.  
The biggest problem that he never anticipated came up after their first weekend. On monday when he joined Snape in the dungeons the professor stood with his arms crossed over his chest, obviously waiting for him.  
“Am I late?” Harry asked confused over Snape’s behaviour. He really thought Snape and he became closer during their time training together and he was sure that he was was on time so he really didn’t know what had the Professor on edge.  
“No, you are not. But what you are is just like your father!” Snape spat at him. “You lie and deceive and I was a fool to have trusted you Potter. Out of my office this instance.”  
“What? I haven’t done anything!” Harry didn’t know whether to be offended or angry especially because of the comment about his father.  
“Right of course. The mighty ´Chosen One` can do it with the former Death Eater because that’s alright, isn’t it?”  
“Seriously Professor I don’t know what I did to deserve your insults.” Harry said forcefully calm. His first instinct was to yell at the man but his newfound respect for Snape stopped him and instead he tried it with reason.  
Snape huffed before turning his blazing black eyes towards Harry. He stood tall and appeared bigger than he really was with his robe draped around him. “Your little club of misfits is what I am talking about.” He sneered.  
“How did you...wait what?” Harry struggled with sorting his thoughts. “Do you think I told them about our arrangement? Because if this is what this whole thing has been about then you don’t have to worry. I haven’t told anyone. I’ve been lying to my friends for days and they know I’m lying but because they love me they won’t ask any further question. I really do care about our lessons and I will honour our deal.” Harry told Snape honestly and watched Snape’s face change and slightly relax. It was quite fascinating to see the different facets and slight changes in the older man’s face and because those changes are so miniscule most people don’t see them but Harry learned to pay attention to them. It was the only way he knew whether he did his task good or not during their private lessons.  
“I’m sorry Harry. I should have asked you first before I made accusations. But it is highly important that no one finds out about this. Not only would Umbridge punish us both severely but if the Dark Lord were to find out the consequences would be way worse.” Snape explained and Harry suddenly understood how much the Professor must really trust him. If the wrong people would find out about their meetings then the man would most likely get tortured for information and in the end pay with his life.  
“I promise I won’t ever do anything that would put you in danger. I don’t want to stop our lessons but if you think it would be better to not meet again then I will stay away.” Harry offered.  
“You think I care about my safety in all of this?” Snape’s lips pulled up into a small smile. “I’ve been doing everything to protect the children in this school, to protect you.”  
“Me? Why me?”  
“Initially because I made a promise to myself and to your mother even though she never knew. And in the beginning I thought you had a safe life with your aunt, that you would be pampered but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I knew that horrible woman when I was a child but she seemed to be a good parent for your cousin and Dumbledore and I thought she would be good to you too. And only a few days ago I found out how you were treated. I didn’t know before you told me because Dumbledore always told me how well you were doing. I treated you the way I did because I wanted to get you ready for the real world, for war but apparently you were more than ready all along and all I did was make things worse for you. I’m sorry Harry.” Snape begged for the young wizard’s forgiveness.  
Harry was shocked. There was so much information in what he just heard that he had to sit down for a moment and work his way through it.  
“You knew my mom? And you obviously knew her good enough to promise her to protect me. How?”  
Snape sighed but then sat down next to him and explained. “We were friends. She was my best friend, my only friend really. Until I made the big mistake to push her away from me and turned towards the dark side. I...was the one to tell the Dark Lord about the prophecy and realised too late that he would go after you and your parents. I went directly to Dumbledore and made a deal with him. He promised to protect them and in return I would be his spy. He couldn’t save them from a betraying friend though. I found them, I found you and I contacted Dumbledore. He sent Hagrid to me and the next time I saw you was here.” Snape looked up and at Harry. The younger man had the same beautiful green eyes as his mother and Snape realised how much he missed his best friend.  
“Thank you for telling me. I don’t know what happened between you and my father and it’s none of my business but I do love hearing about my mother. Everyone always tells me stories about my father but I only ever hear about my mother’s eyes.” Harry told him with a slight smile playing his lips. “It’s not your fault you know? Their death or my upbringing, it’s not your fault.”  
“But it is. I made a promise and I failed you and your mother, Harry.” Snape told him with a sad look in his eyes.  
“What if...” Harry started uncertainly. He didn’t know whether he should bring it up or not but since Snape was so honest and open with him he decided to be as well. “What if I told you that Dumbledore knew how badly I was treated?”  
“No that can’t be. He wouldn’t have left you there if he knew.” Snape answered confused.  
“Right. Forget it.”  
“No, tell me. Why do you think he knew?”  
“Do you really believe he didn’t know how his ´Saviour` was being treated? That he never checked up on me?”  
“I didn’t and I made a promise.” Snape argued.  
“Yes but you asked Dumbledore and he always told you the same lie, didn’t he?” Harry shot back.  
“That’s true. But how do you know he hasn’t been lied to either?”  
“I don’t but I have a question for you now. Who sends those Hogwarts acceptance letters to the children? Who puts the address on the envelope?” Harry asked the man.  
“Well usually Minerva writes those letters but Albus prides himself with writing the address of each new student on the envelope himself. It’s sort of his final approval. Why?”  
“Because on my letter he wrote ´The Cupboard under the Stairs` as my address. He must have known that I slept in a tiny space underneath the stairs.” Harry stated.  
Snape was shocked. Everything he believed to know was suddenly all wrong. Dumbledore lied to him for all those years. What if he lied about everything else as well? What if he lied about Lily?  
“I have to go talk to him!” Snape exclaimed angrily and stood up.  
“No! You can’t.” Harry grabbed Snape’s warm hand to stop him. “You can’t tell him now. Whatever he might have done he is still someone we need to trust. We need him against Voldemort.”  
“So what do you suggest we do Harry? Wait and see what happens?” Snape asked exasperated.  
“Yes and no. We observe Dumbledore and act like nothing’s changed.”  
“That’s your plan? If all of your plans are as badly thought out as that one I’m highly surprised that you are still alive.” Snape smirked a bit at that but sat down again with Harry’s hand still curled around his. “I will do as you suggest but if I have the slightest feeling that Dumbledore is betraying any of us I will take you out of here. No discussion.” He warned.  
Harry nodded. “Alright.”  
“I don’t think we will train today. You should go and get a good night of sleep Harry.”  
“Yeah. You should too, you know. Good night Snape.” He squeezed the man’s hand and stood up.  
“Good night Harry.”

The thing with the ´good night of sleep`didn’t work out quite as well as Harry thought it would because of the nightmare. No, not just a nightmare, a vision from Voldemort. It was as if he were the snake that attacked poor Arthur Weasley in some room at the Ministry of Magic. Ron went directly to McGonagall who took him to the Headmaster immediately. Upon Dumbledore’s clear ignorance Harry became angry. At first he figured out that Dumbledore must have known about how he was treated, then came that nightmare with his lingering side effects thanks to Voldemort and now he’s been ignored by the Headmaster since he entered the room.  
“Shut up! Shut...up!” He yelled and everyone looked at him like he was crazy and maybe he was but he deserved answers and so he did. But instead of an answer he got Snape entering the room and Dumbledore immediately send the pair of them off for some sort of training.  
On their way down the steps Harry had enough of the silence. “What the hell is going on here?” He demanded.  
“Sh, not here. I will explain as soon as we’re in my office.” Snape shushed Harry and they went further down to the dungeons.  
As soon as the door was closed behind them Harry turned around and confronted Snape. “We’re here. What’s going on?”  
“Voldemort seems to have a connection to your mind and Dumbledore wants me to teach you how to shut him out.” Snape explained him.  
“How long did you know?”  
“I didn’t exactly know anything but Dumbledore told me that it might be necessary for you to learn. He didn’t say why but when he called me to his office he said you had a vision about him.” Snape explained.  
“It wasn’t exactly a vision about him. I didn’t see him or his snake it was more like I was the snake. I attacked Mr. Weasley and I couldn’t do anything against it. It was like my body didn’t belong to me. It was horrible Snape.” Harry was close to tears now. All the stress from the last hours hitting him all at once and the knowledge that Voldemort had access to his head didn’t exactly help.  
“Harry, listen to me. This wasn’t you. You can’t control it yet but I will help you. We will fortify your mind so you can shut him and others out of your thoughts.” Snape promised him and took a small step towards Harry so he can touch the young wizard’s arm in a comforting gesture.  
“Thank you. It means a lot to me that you are willing to help me.” Harry tells him honestly and finally manages to fight back his tears for good.  
“Then let’s start.” Snape gestured to a chair in the middle of the room. “What I will teach you is Occlumency. You have to clear your mind of all thoughts and emotions to be able to close your mind to outside influences. We will begin with a sort of meditation technique.” With a flip of his wand a few scented candles were lighting up around the room and the light was switched off so that only the candles were illuminating the room. “Now I want you to relax in the chair, close your eyes and focus on your breath. Just follow my instructions and rid yourself of any other thought. Take slow breaths in … and out.” Snape coached Harry through it while watching him slowly unwind. “You’re doing very well Harry. Just keep going. In and out.”  
After a few minutes of this Snape decided that Harry was relaxed enough for the next step. “Don’t be afraid. I will brush against your mind and test it’s restraints but I won’t invade it yet.” Snape explained before he concentrated and used his talents as a legilimens to brush against the younger man’s mind. Harry jumped a bit at the first contact but now that he knew what it felt like he relaxed back into his chair and concentrated again on his breathing. He couldn’t see it but Snape had a small proud smile on his lips that made him look so much softer and younger. He felt around the edges of the other’s mind and knew that there was a lot of work to be done. After about an hour of relaxation exercises Harry’s concentration began to slip and Snape stopped their lesson.  
“Wow, I didn’t know it could be so exhausting to relax.” Harry joked and smiled up at Snape who returned a small smile of himself. Harry was surprised how beautiful Snape suddenly looked with that smile on his face and he had to shake himself to get rid of that thought. What was happening to him? Snape attractive? No that can’t be right.  
“You should go back to your dorm and get at least a bit more sleep. You have a full schedule for the next weeks and probably months with our defense training and occlumency lessons as well as your little project of playing teacher.” Snape became serious again. “We should keep our meeting time every day but we will switch between occlumency and defense training every other day.”  
“Sure. See you tomorrow...or later I guess. Good night.” Harry said, yawned and then left.

The following days were horrible. Umbridge became more powerful every day, Harry seemed to be able to feel whenever Voldemort experienced strong emotions because his scar hurt a lot ever since his last vision and the stress from all his liabilities gave him the rest. At least he didn’t have to think about Quidditch anymore since Umbridge kicked him out of the team a few days before the whole vision incident. But still he was angry, stressed, tired and in pain which was not a good combination so he finally exploded during an Occlumency lesson with Snape. He had enough of failing building a wall around his mind and having the Professor go through his memories even though the older man was always considerate about it. He never made fun of him or dug deeper but it still pissed Harry off that he could just see anything that Harry was thinking about. And so he made the big mistake of reflecting the spell back at Snape and invading his mind. Harry was shocked to see how his father tormented Snape when they were in school just because he was friends with Lily and James was jealous. But it was also clear that Harry’s father didn’t have to be jealous since there was one memory of Snape making out with a boy. And then Snape managed to pull up his walls after he fought through the shock of what happened.  
Harry and Snape looked at each other with similar expressions of shock on their faces but soon Harry’s morphed into horror about what he’s done while Snape’s turned into anger.  
“Out!” Snape growled, eyes blazing.  
“I’m sorry. I...I don’t know why I did that. I was just so angry and it was all too much, I just...” Harry tried to explain.  
“I said out...now!” The Professor snarled and then turned around, not looking at Harry anymore.  
“I really am sorry.” Harry said and then left.

The next day was terrible. For weeks now he significantly improved at potions but today he could barely pay attention because he had to think about what happened the evening before. He felt horrible and he felt even worse when he nearly blew up the whole classroom with his potion but was thankfully stopped by Hermione before he could put in the wrong ingredient. He made it through the rest of the day sulking and with his friends constantly asking him if he was alright and by the time dinner was over he practically ran to the dungeons. He knew that it was highly possible that Snape wouldn’t want to see him and throw him out again but he at least needed to try to apologize.  
He knocked on the door and as soon as it opened revealing Snape’s face he put his foot in so that the Professor wouldn’t be able to close the door again. “Sir please I need to talk to you!”  
“I don’t think you do Potter!”  
“Please. I had no right to do what I did but I just lost control for a second. There’s all these things that I have to worry about and added to that I just can’t seem to be able to block off my mind to safe my own life and now my scar hurts again and I just can’t deal with this stress anymore.” Harry rambled on, massaging his scar to make it hurt less. He was sounding pathetic and he knew it but he didn’t care. He needed someone to talk to and Snape was the only one who would understand, who had all the facts to understand. He was sure without the man he would break apart at some point and that was scarier than he wanted to admit.  
Snape thought about what he just heard and then looked at Harry. The young man was rubbing his scar, his body was shaking and Snape was pretty sure there were tears in his eyes. The Potions Master was still angry and if he wanted to be completely honest with himself a bit disappointed as well but he couldn’t let Harry leave in the state he was right now.  
“Come in.”  
“Thank you.” Harry breathed relieved.  
“This doesn’t mean it’s okay what you did.”  
“No, I know. I just wanted you to know that I am really truly sorry. I wouldn’t do that to you on purpose. I just couldn’t take it anymore.” Harry’s voice wobbled at the end and a tear slipped down his face. “I feel like I’m breaking apart and I don’t know what to do.” He admitted.  
Snape looked up at the confession not sure what to do. Harry needed someone to comfort him but Snape wasn’t sure if he could be that someone. He never was much of a hugger and from his parents he certainly didn’t learn how to comfort someone but now he felt like he at least had to try even if he was still a bit angry at Harry. He stepped forward and then slowly pulled Harry towards his chest, wrapping his arms around the younger man.  
Harry was surprised when he found Snape’s arms around him but the shock quickly gave way to a warm feeling in his chest. He wrapped his arms around the older man and all the feelings he kept inside him for such a long time came rushing to the surface. He cried into his Professor’s robe for what felt like hours, with Snape never letting him go and even moving one of his hands up and down Harry’s back to soothe him. When the younger wizard was done with crying and had his emotions back under control he let go of Snape, his cheeks turned a dark shade of red in embarrassment.  
“Sorry for that. I usually don’t cry, I don’t know what’s happening to me.”  
“It’s alright Harry. There’s a lot of pressure on you and I understand what you are going through but if you look into my mind again I will transfigure you into a cauldron and let the first years brew in it.” Snape warned him.  
“I promise. Does that mean you will keep on teaching me?” Harry asked hopefully.  
“Maybe we should take a break and continue after the Christmas holidays.” Snape suggested and when he saw that Harry wanted to object he tried to explain his reasons. “You’re exhausted as it is and like that you won’t be able to properly clear your mind.”  
Harry nodded at that. He knew that Snape was right but he still wanted to keep going.  
“You concentrate on training your classmates these last few days and during your holidays you will relax your mind and work on clearing it. As soon as you are back we will resume our lessons. You will need them.” Snape told him and Harry nodded in agreement. “Oh and keep up your strength. I don’t want to start building up your body strength from the beginning all over again.” Snape said in a serious manner but the sparkle in his black eyes and the small tilt of his lips told Harry that the man was at least partly joking.  
“I will ask Sirius for a punching bag for Christmas.” Harry joked back and then turned towards the door. “Thank you again Snape. For everything. Have a nice holiday.”  
As soon as Harry had closed the door behind him Snape whispered: “You too Harry.”  
The Potions Master didn’t understand himself anymore. First he offered training Harry without Dumbledore making him then he actually started liking the younger man and now he hugged him and had this weirdly warm fuzzy feeling in his chest and it scared him to death. If the Dark Lord or anyone else found out about this everyone would be in great danger and he couldn’t risk that. So his only choice was to ignore his feelings but he knew he couldn’t do that with having Harry so close to him, it wouldn’t be fair to get back to ignoring the other man. When did his life get so confusing?  
Snape sighed and then decided to get ahead of his orders for the infirmary. They always stocked up their healing potions over the holiday season and it was his job to brew them. He walked over to his cauldron and started with a dreamless sleep potion.

It was the last day of school before the Christmas break and Harry finished his day with a DA meeting in the Room of Requirements. They were all improving rapidly and Harry was quite proud of them but he also knew that they weren’t ready for a serious fight yet. He wished everyone nice holidays and the room slowly cleared. Fred and George told him about their ideas of what they could do to Umbridge but Harry couldn’t really think about that with everything else that was going on but he promised to talk to them later. He saw Cho walk over to the mirror looking at a picture of Cedric with a sad expression on her face. Harry once thought that he fancied her but since then a lot has happened and Harry now saw that he might have been lying to himself, denying who he really was. He went over to her because he just wanted to help her with her grieve but when he looked at Hermione and Ron he saw that they clearly thought that something more would happen between him and Cho. That made him hesitate but the urge to help a friend won out and he walked over to her anyway.  
“Are you alright?” He asked her. “I heard Umbridge gave you a rough time the other day.”  
“Yeah, I’m okay” Cho replied shyly. “It’s just … It’s just learning all this makes me wonder whether if he’d known it.” She looked at the picture again with a sad look in her eyes.  
“Cedric...Cedric did know this stuff. He was really good.” He hesitated before continuing. “It’s just...that Voldemort was better.”  
“You’re a really good teacher Harry. I’ve never been able to stun anything before.” Cho told him with a slight smile and Harry smiled back at her.  
Something above them got Cho’s attention and she looked up at some mistletoe that was growing out of nowhere and Harry began to panic.  
“Mistletoe.” Cho whispered, looking at him.  
And because Harry didn’t know what to do he said the first thing that came to his mind and that was something that Luna told him about. “Probably full of Nargles.”  
“What are Nargles?”  
“I have no idea.” Harry desperately thought about something to say or do to stop Cho from kissing him but he wasn’t fast enough because suddenly there were lips on his, a mouth moving along his and he felt extremely uncomfortable. He took hold of Cho’s arms and gently pushed her away. She had a disbelieving look on her face which morphed slowly into anger.  
“What is wrong with you? First you want to go to the Yule Ball with me and now you push me away?” She said, clearly upset.  
“I’m sorry Cho. A lot has happened over the past few months and I learned a lot about myself and I’m pretty sure I’m gay.” The words rushed out of Harry’s mouth and he was surprised that he had just told someone that he liked men.  
“You’re gay?” She asked with a shocked look on her face.  
“I don’t know why I just told you that but no one else knows. So please, would you keep that to yourself?” Harry pleaded with her.  
“I don’t know how to feel about this but you are still my friend, so I will keep your secret.” Cho promised him.  
Harry thanked her and they both left to return to their common rooms where he found his friends waiting for him in front of the fire so het sat down on the floor in front of them.  
“How was it?” Ron asked with a grin.  
“How was what?”  
“Oh come on mate. Don’t leave us hanging.”  
Harry sighed and then made sure no one was around who could hear them. He couldn’t keep everything a secret and decided to at least tell them this truth. “It was horrible.”  
“That bad, hu?” Ron snickered.  
“I’m sure with practice it will get better.” Hermione tried to encourage him.  
“No, it’s not that. I just...why does it have to be so difficult.” Harry roved his hands through his hair for a moment, trying to figure out what to say.  
“What is it Harry?” Hermione asked him.  
“I’m...I’m gay.” He mumbled, looking down at his hands to hide his blush from his friends.  
Suddenly there were arms around him and Hermione was mumbling in his ear. “I don’t care Harry. We don’t care. We love you anyway. You’re our best friend.” She told him and when Harry looked up at Ron on the couch he knew that it was true.  
“Thank you.”

Christmas break was great. Harry could finally spend time with Sirius and even the Wesleys came by for the celebrations. Arthur was doing better every day and Harry was glad but he also was a bit uncomfortable about all the praise he got from them for ´saving` Mr Weasley. Sirius actually gifted Harry a punching bag for Christmas and Harry used it for training every day until he went back to Hogwarts. He remembered every lesson that he had with Snape and used it to train long and hard which showed on his body. His muscles were well toned by now. He has always been lanky and way too thin thanks to the Dursleys. But now he he had well defined abs, a nicely formed biceps, strong shoulders and back and even his legs had a nice muscular form while still being thin enough to fit all his pants. Some of his shirts however didn’t fit him anymore because of his new stature. So shortly before he left again for Hogwarts Sirius and Harry went shopping together. They had a very different understanding of fashion but Sirius still managed to help him pick out some nice shirts, jumpers and a leather jacket and even a few new form fitting trousers. They also went to a tailor where Harry got a brand new two piece suit. It was in a dark gray colour paired with a black dress shirt but without a tie because Harry decided that it’s quite constricting to have something bound around your neck. It would take a week until it’s ready to be picked up so Sirius agreed to send it to him as soon as it was ready.  
Back at Grimmauld Place he went up to his room, combining different outfits and showing them to Sirius. They were all showing off his muscles, hugging his body in all the right places and Harry was quite proud of how he looked.  
“Wow Harry. You were taking that training thing quite serious. It suits you.” Sirius complemented and made Harry blush.  
“Thanks. I enjoy the training. And it helps me controlling my magic.”  
“That’s good. Where did you learn that?”  
Harry hesitated with his answer. He couldn’t tell him the truth but he should tell him at least something. “I have a teacher. But I can’t tell you who or why, I just want you to know that I’m safe and that I have someone to properly show me how I can win this war.”  
Sirius looked a bit guilty at that. “I should be the one to show you but I can’t be there for you and I’m sorry. It should never have been this way. But I’m glad you’re not alone in this. Just promise me to keep yourself out of danger.”  
“I can try but you know as well as I do that danger always seems to find me.” Harry smiled a bit.  
“Yes, it does seem that way.” Sirius agreed laughing. 

The next day Harry left for Hogwarts but before that Sirius promised him that he never again had to return to the Dursleys because he would be staying with him at Grimmauld Place. This and the prospect of seeing Snape again made it easy for him to return to school. Hermione and Ron told him about their holidays and Harry told them about what he and Sirius have been up to, including their shopping trip. He showed off the outfit he was wearing and both his friends were impressed with the results of his training.  
“Mate, whoever it is you’re trying to impress, he’s going to like it. You look great. From a completely objective point of view.” Ron told him.  
“I’m not...trying to impress someone.” Harry replied blushing furiously. Why was he blushing? He’s not trying to impress someone. Or was he?  
“Your mouth is saying one thing but your face is saying something else. Who is it? Someone we know?” Hermione tried to pry.  
“I...I don’t...I’m not sure if I like him. Or if he likes me. It’s just so very complicated.” Harry mumbled unsure what to say. Did he really start to like Snape. He didn’t even know when that happened but now that he thought about it he was sure that yes, he liked him and not just in a friendship kind of way but more in a he’s attractive kind of way. All those muscles that were usually hidden beneath these offending black robes but when they were training his shirt was showing off every delicious piece of that trained body. And Harry liked that a lot.  
He realised that he’s been staring into space with a giddy grin on his face and he had to shake his head to clear his mind. He looked back at his friends and saw them smiling triumphantly at him.  
“Oh you do like him.” Hermione squealed and hugged him.  
“So who is it?” Ron asked him.  
“I...I can’t tell. I’m sorry but it has to stay a secret. I promised.”  
“Okay but you tell us as soon as you can. Promise?” Hermione relented after a moment of hesitation.  
“I promise.”

After dinner Harry went directly down to the dungeons and he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.  
“Harry. I didn’t realise you would be coming down here today.” Snape said a bit surprised when he opened the door for Harry and motioned for him to come in.  
“Oh, sorry. I thought you said I should come as soon as I’m back at Hogwarts.” Harry said unsure.  
“I did say that so it’s fine. Let’s go back and get started. How did it go with clearing your mind?” Snape asked him while taking off his robes until he stood there in a white shirt and his pants.  
Harry literally had to pull his eyes away from Snape’s body to be able to properly answer the man. “I had some trouble in the beginning but after a couple of days it was easier. My body was relaxing and so I could relax my mind.”  
“That’s good. For now we will get back to duelling and tomorrow we will see how good you really can clear your head.” Snape gave him a slight smile and Harry beamed at him.  
They started easy and Snape scolded Harry for always starting off with Expelliarmus and Harry couldn’t help but admit that he was right. Maybe he should start with another charm the next time. He just chuckled and then fired off the next spell at the Professor.  
They duelled for the next two hours and when they finished up they were both sweating and panting heavily.  
“I desperately need a shower.” Harry exclaimed pulling up his shirt from his abdomen and using it as a towel for his face while giving Snape an ´accidental` view of his abs.  
“Yes I think you and I both.” Snape replied and Harry saw to his delight that the man had trouble keeping his eyes off of him.  
“Well good night then Snape.” Harry told him and with a little squeeze to the Professor’s arm he left with a smile on his face.

The next day was a usual school day. Well as usual as it could be with a dreadful woman as Umbridge being High Inquisitor. There were again a few people who got detention from her and Harry was lucky that he wasn’t one of them. In potions he was doing quite well again and he was proud that he finally understood the subject. But his highlight of the day was again his lesson with Snape after dinner.  
They sat opposite each other and Harry closed his eyes to focus on his task of clearing his mind. He managed to do so a lot faster than before and when Snape slightly brushed against the young man’s mind he was surprised to see that it was actually clear.  
“Good Harry, now I want you to build a mental wall around your mind. It has to be something you can picture. Maybe a door or a chest or even a person that guards your thoughts.”  
“What is yours?” Harry asked interested in his answer.  
But Snape hesitated before he answered. “I learned this skill a long time ago. It was a protection mechanism when I first got involved with the Dark Lord. It just...happened. My wall is literally a wall. An old memory of a wall in my childhood home.” He revealed.  
Harry nodded his head and tried to think of something to lock away his mind. He closed his eyes and concentrated but there were a hundred different possibilities running through his head and he didn’t know what to settle on.  
Snape saw him struggling and put his hands on Harry’s shoulders which made the younger man look up at him. “Do you have a safe place? Somewhere where you can go to escape all the pressure?”  
“Yes.” Harry paused. “I come here.”  
Snape pulled away his hands in surprise. “Okay, then use these walls around you as your barricade.” He told him.  
“No you don’t understand and quite frankly neither do I but you sort of became my safe place these past few weeks.” Harry exclaimed with a deep blush tinting his cheeks.  
“Me? Harry you can’t...”  
“I know you are my teacher and I can’t feel this way about you but I do.” Harry interrupted him.  
“That’s not what I wanted to say. I just meant that you can’t tell anyone. No one can know.” Snape looked him in the eyes to make clear how serious he was.  
“You’re not upset?”  
“No. I became a person you rely on. I won’t let you down Harry.” Snape told him.  
“Right. Thanks.” Harry said a bit unconvincing.  
Snape understood what Harry tried to tell him but he couldn’t acknowledge it. He couldn’t act on his own feelings and he definitely couldn’t encourage Harry’s. It was a weird situation for him. He’s never had feelings for anyone before and of all people in the world it’s a student of his. And not just any student but Harry James Potter, the Chosen One. What was wrong with him? He shook himself out of his thoughts and then returned his attention to Harry.  
“Well then you should use me as your barrier. We will start easy. I will invade your mind and you will focus and think about me guarding your every thought.” Snape said and he was sure he heard Harry mumble under his breath something about that it wasn’t hard to think about him. Snape let it slide.  
Harry nodded when he was ready and Snape invaded his mind and he had to admit that the boy, no Harry was a man, learned quite fast now that he understood the basics. The only thing he saw when he invaded Harry’s mind was himself, wearing his usual black robes, his arms crossed over his chest with a serious look on his face.  
“Very good Harry. Now I suggest we work on making this picture something that comes to you effortlessly whenever someone tries to enter your mind. For this you have to always be ready. You have to realise that anyone could try to enter your mind at any place and any time. If you give me permission I will test you during your day whenever I feel like it. I will enter your mind during our classes, during lunch and in the corridors. It will be hard in the beginning but with a bit of time and practice you can do it Harry. But it is your choice.” Snape explained to him.  
“At any given time?” Harry asked a bit unsure and Snape nodded.  
“Okay then. I agree.” Harry told him after a bit of thought.  
“Good, then I will start with that tomorrow. During our Occlumency lessons we will work on improving that wall of yours so that in the end your mental picture will only be visible to you and everyone trying to enter your mind will see nothing at all.”  
“Okay, then let’s do that.”  
“I appreciate your enthusiasm but no. We will repeat what you did before and then you can leave early. I have potions to brew today.” Snape told him.  
“Potions? What kind of potions?” Harry asked him with a curious look on his face.  
“Umbridge requested some. She especially likes to use the truth serum when she interrogates students. It’s sick that I have to brew it for her and she’s using it on the students I’m trying to protect.” Snape said bitterly.  
“Did you talk to Dumbledore? Does he know?” Harry asked.  
“I told him. And he said he cares but he also said that he can not do anything against it.”  
“Right. And we’re supposed to believe that the most powerful wizard of our time can’t stop a pink toad from torturing and interrogating students?” Harry asked him, his voice laced with heavy sarcasm.  
Snape couldn’t keep in his smile. “Pink toad?”  
“Yes, that’s what we call her behind her back. That and some other names I’d rather keep to myself.” Harry answered him with a slight blush on his cheeks.  
Snape had the sudden urge to caress those pink cheeks and the strong jaw line on Harry’s face but he stopped himself and instead focused on their lesson.  
“It’s fine Harry. I can deal with Umbridge. The way I see it as long as she needs me here she can’t dismiss me.” Snape told him. “Now let’s get back on topic. Concentrate and I will invade your mind.” He watched Harry relax and then focused on entering his mind. Snape saw a glimpse of a memory but soon he was pushed out and he saw himself again, guarding whatever memory that he just saw.  
They repeated this a few times before Snape decided to finish up and start brewing.  
“You should go and get some sleep while you can Harry. We’ll see each other tomorrow.” The professor said and stood up to walk over to his cauldron and made fire.  
“Yeah well. I don’t really sleep that much anyway. But if you don’t mind I would like to watch you brew until I have to get back before curfew.” Harry told him hopefully.  
“You want to watch me brew?”  
“Yes. Like I said before I found your lessons really interesting once I decided to actually listen. I’m curious to learn more and watching you brew an advanced potion seems to be my only chance.” He explained, his cheeks flushing again. What the hell was wrong with him? He hasn’t blushed as often in the past 15 years of his life as he had these past few weeks. That was really embarrassing.  
Snape saw his red-tinted cheeks and knew he shouldn’t encourage his student but he couldn’t stop himself from saying: “Okay. But you won’t touch anything and you leave before curfew because I don’t want any trouble.”  
“Promise.” Harry beamed at Snape and the older man turned around without another word to gather the ingredients he needed.  
As soon as Snape had everything he needed he rolled up his sleeves and began chopping and crushing his ingredients with a practiced ease. Harry was fascinated by those strong arms and hands handling the herbs and liquids fast and yet so sure. The young man was silent and didn’t ask one question but he watched every step intently and took notice of the technique Snape used to stir the potion. His hand movements and his patience while stirring was so very different from what Harry and all his fellow students were doing. After a while Harry realised that it was pretty late already and he gathered his things. He looked back at Snape to wish him a good night but before he said anything he stopped himself because he saw that the Professor was clearly immersed in his work. He smiled softly and then left to go back to his dorm.

The next few weeks were going as usual. Umbridge was making new rules every other day, Harry was improving his defense spells, his hand to hand combat and his occlumency skills during the lessons with Snape and after a while he even managed to keep the Professor out of his mind when he wasn’t prepared for it. In the beginning he had a bit of trouble keeping up the wall during his daily life but thanks to Snape’s surprise attacks he learned to always be on guard. And sometimes he even managed to push the other man out without showing his mental picture and instead showing Snape a blank mind. The only problem he had left was that he couldn’t keep his walls up during his sleep. So far he didn’t have another vision but the pain in his scar flared up from time to time.  
The meetings of the DA were also going quite well. Umbridge knew that something was up but they were smart enough to not let that bitch find them.  
It was another weekend and Harry was on his way to the Room of Requirements. The other Gryffindors, including Ron and Hermione, already left in groups of two or three, coming all from various directions in the school to confuse Umbridge and her little squad. Harry just walked through a corridor when he was pulled into a dark corner. He started to defend himself but the person that grabbed him pressed Harry’s back to his hard, firm chest and held Harry’s arms in a tight grip to the young wizard’s chest. “Stop Harry! It’s me.” A deep voice breathed into his ear.  
“Snape?” Harry asked as he recognised the voice behind him and he stopped struggling against the hold. Snape let him go and Harry turned around to him with a questioning look on his face. “What’s going on?”  
“I have to tell you something and it’s important that you listen quite carefully. Umbridge...” Snape started but was interrupted by a group of voices coming closer to their location. They looked at each other quietly and they both realised how close they were to each other. If one of them were to lean just a bit forward their lips would have met but no one dared to move. Their breaths mingled with each other and Harry could smell peppermint and something sweet and fruity in Snape’s breath which made him want to close that gap between them even more. But the voices came even closer and Harry recognised Draco and some other Slytherins. His eyes filled with panic and he looked at Snape for what to do and the older man looked torn but then decided to motion for Harry to stay hidden and then walked out of the dark corner. Harry heard Snape talk to the Slytherins and crept out of the hiding place and made his way to the Room of Requirements.  
Snape dealt with his students and then turned around to the place he left Harry but the young man was gone. Snape wasn’t someone to swear in public but now he couldn’t stop himself from exclaiming: “Shit!”. He wanted to tell Harry that Umbridge interrogated Ms Chang and that she now knew where they were meeting. Snape had to warn them as soon as possible even if he had to reveal his relationship with Harry. He made his way upstairs but when he arrived at the corridor where the Room of Requirements was he already saw Filch and Umbridge standing there and Draco and his friends just came around a corner to join them. Snape was angry. He sent Draco and the others to the library to finish up their homework and now they were here helping Umbridge. Snape searched for a way around them but he couldn’t find one and so he had to watch as the `pink toad´, as Harry called her, used Bombarda to blow a hole into the wall. Snape watched as Harry and the others were dragged out of the room and he hated the feeling that he couldn’t help without making it worse.  
Harry was brought into the Headmaster’s office and Snape could do nothing but wait. He also followed Umbridge and Harry to a classroom where everyone else of the DA was waiting and they disappeared inside while Snape had to wait outside again.  
He waited in a niche right in front of the room and when the doors opened and the students came out Snape saw some of them crying and others angry but all of them were rubbing the back of their hands and he knew instantly what Umbridge did to them. Then he saw Harry and his friends walk out and and since he was sure that Harry’s defence was down he entered the student’s mind and send him a message to meet him in his office. With that he left and waited anxiously for Harry to show up.  
“Harry! Are you alright?” Snape asked as soon as the door to his office closed behind Harry.  
“I’m fine.” Harry told him but the man was clearly exhausted.  
“Come sit down. You want some tea?”  
“No thanks.” Harry sat down with his head hanging low.  
“What happened Harry?” Snape sat down across from him and tried to encourage him to speak but Harry kept his head low.  
“She found us and I couldn’t do anything to protect them.” Harry whispered.  
“This is not your fault Harry and it’s not your job to protect them. When I tried to talk to you earlier I wanted to warn you but I didn’t get that far. I saw her explode the wall and drag you to Dumbledore.” Snape admitted. “I should have helped but I didn’t know how without making it worse.”  
“It’s fine Snape. If it’s not my fault, then it’s also not yours.” Harry smiled a sad smile before telling him what happened. “He’s gone. Dumbledore just left. He took the blame and without another word he disappeared.”  
“What? He’s gone?” Snape didn’t know what to say. Who’s going to stop the Ministry from completely taking over now? “We will manage. Don’t worry Harry. I told you that I would stand by your side. You are not alone.”  
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” Harry took Snape’s hand in one of his own and squeezed it to show him how much it really means to him. Snape looked down at their hands and then saw the new scars on the back of it. He took that hand in his own and moved his thumb carefully over it.  
“Does it hurt?” Snape asked.  
“It’s not that bad.”  
Snape stood up and walked over to a shelf. He pulled a phial out and then moved back over to Harry where he kneeled down. “Show me.” Snape demanded and Harry put his hand in Snape’s offered one. The Professor opened the vial and put a few drops on Harry’s wounds. Then he used his free hand to slowly massaged the oil into the scars and watched them heal under his care.  
“Thanks. It’s a lot better already.” Harry admitted and smiled shyly down at his Professor.  
“You should go and take care of you friends. Take this.” Snape pushed the vial into Harry’s hand. “A few drops each should be enough.” He instructed.  
“Thank you. But how am I going to explain where I got it from?”  
“Tell them you stole it from my storage. I will give you detention for tomorrow after dinner where we will meet anyway.” Snape shrugged.  
“Fine. Fair warning I might have to talk bad about you when you give me detention.” Harry grinned which Snape returned with a quirk of his own lips.  
“That’s alright. I heard a lot of that over the past years. And I deserved most of it.”  
“No Snape. You didn’t. Even though no one realised before, I can see it now. You are a good man even though you’re a bit harsh sometimes with us students but you do it for our own safety. It would help no one if you would be nice and every lesson someone would blow up the whole classroom or poison everyone around. Plus you have an image to maintain for Voldemort, so I get it. And one day others will understand as well.” Harry told him truthfully.  
Snape nodded slowly when he saw how serious Harry was. He was grateful for the younger man’s presence in his life. Snape realised that he actually enjoyed talking to Harry because he can finally be himself, the self he thought he had lost when he decided to join the Dark Lord, when he had lost his best friend Lily. He was kind and understanding when he was with Harry and he would do anything that he didn’t have to lose that side of him again and the connection he had with the young man.  
“Good night Harry.”  
“Good night.” Harry smiled before he stood up and left with the vial of oil in his hand to help his friends.

“Harry! Where have you been? Did you know that it was Cho who sold us out to Umbridge?” Ron stood from his place in front of the fire as soon as he spotted Harry.  
“What? No she wouldn’t do that. Except...” Harry started.  
“Except what Harry?” Hermione asked.  
“What if she was forced to tell her?”  
“What do you mean forced?” Ron asked while Hermione looked at him with a shocked expression.  
“Umbridge is using veritaserum to interrogate students. She probably used it on Cho because otherwise she never would have given us up.” Harry explained.  
“She’s doing what? How long have you known?” Hermione shrieked.  
“Not for very long. But I can’t exactly go to her and stop her, can I?” Harry said defensively.  
“But you could have told us mate.” Ron told him. “You’re keeping a lot from us lately and we understand Harry but we’re your friends and that was something you should have told us because this is about us as well.”  
“I know and I’m sorry but there’s been so much going on and I honestly forgot. But I have a peace offering.” Harry smiled slightly while holding up the vial he got from Snape.  
“What is that?” Hermione asked suspiciously.  
“It’s an oil that helps with scars. Here look.” Harry showed the his hand where the scars were only barely visible now.  
“Where did you get that?” Hermione asked him, not letting it go.  
“Does it matter?” Harry squirmed.  
“Yes! No more lies mate.” Ron told him sternly.  
“Fine, I stole it from Snape’s storage.”  
“You what?” Hermione couldn’t believe what she just heard.  
“He had it and we needed it. He wouldn’t have given it to us if I had asked so I just took it. I’m sure he won’t even miss it.” Harry lied. “Do you want it now or not?”  
“Well since it’s already here...”  
“Ron!”  
“What Hermione? He’s right you know? We do need it and Snape wouldn’t have given it to us. And you know what? It bloody hurts so I’m going to use it!” Ron replied and after a moment Hermione had to admit that he was right and nodded.  
“Fine. But you will never do that again, is that clear Harry?” She looked at his friend.  
“I promise.” And with that Harry put a few drops on their hands and watched his friends massage the oil into their skins.  
“You should go around and give it to anyone who needs it. I’m in the shower.” Harry left them with the vial and was glad that he could spend some time alone to relax his muscles.

Harry spend the next few days studying for his O.W.L.s and for the first time he actually felt confident in passing his exams except for DADA. He didn’t know what to actually learn for the test but he tried his best anyway. Ever since Umbridge took over as Headmistress the lessons became even worse just as everything else.  
He did get detention from Snape for the `stolen´ vial but they used it for their usual lessons just as Snape told him they would. The only problem with that was that Hermione was angry with him but they were back to normal after a few days so it wasn’t that bad.  
Fred and George told Harry about their plan of leaving as soon as possible and opening a joke shop in Diagon alley. For that they needed an investor and they asked Harry who was willing to give them the money he won in the Triwizard Tournament in return he would be a silent partner.  
The day of the O.W.L. exams Harry and all the other students were extremely nervous but they all tried their best. After half of their time had passed there was a loud noise coming from outside. Umbridge walked through the rows of students towards the back of the room but before she could even reach the door it opened itself and in flew the Weasley twins on their brooms. They used their fireworks to blow up the exam papers on the desks and then a huge firework dragon was let loose that chased Umbridge out of the room. The students all ran out of the room to watch the rest of the show and then send Fred and George off.  
As Harry watched them fly away he felt that someone tried to enter his mind but his wall was up and he brushed it off.  
Later that night when he was asleep his wall was week enough and the intruder managed to get through this time and what Harry saw made him shoot up in his bed and gasp. It was the same room in the Ministry as in the last vision but instead of Arthur it was Sirius lying on the ground. Voldemort was torturing his godfather with the Cruciatus curse and Harry had to watch helplessly as Sirius suffered.  
He woke up Ron and explained to him what happened. “Then we have to go and help him!” Ron exclaimed.  
“We can’t. At least not yet.” Harry told him.  
“What? Why not?”  
“This could be a trap from Voldemort. I think he tried to enter my mind a few hours before but I can shield my mind as long as I’m awake so he couldn’t enter but now he did. We have to go to Grimmauld Place first and look if he’s there.” Harry told him determined.  
They took Harry’s invisibility cloak and made their way to Umbridge’s office. They opened the door to find it empty and walked straight over to the fireplace to transport directly to Sirius’ place.  
“Sirius? Are you here?” Harry yelled while walking through the house.  
“Master Black is not here.” Said a voice from behind the two boys.  
“Kreacher! Where is he?” Harry turned around to the house elf but when he didn’t answer Harry became angry. “Answer me!” He yelled at the small elf.  
“Master Black went to the Ministry” Kreacher grumbled before turning around and cleaning the next surface he could find.  
“The Ministry. Come Ron, we have to go now!”  
“Wait. We can’t just show up at the Ministry alone. We need to get help.” Ron stopped his friend before he could went off on his own.  
“Fine, good thinking Ron. Then let’s go and alert the others.” Harry pulled Ron into the fireplace with him and flooed back into Umbridge’s office but when they stepped out they weren’t alone anymore. In front of them stood the lady in pink, her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. Behind her were Hermione, Luna, Neville and Ginny who were held back by Draco and his friends.  
“Did you really think I would leave my fireplace unprotected?” Umbridge asked them. “Where have you been?”  
When they didn’t answer the Headmistress let her anger show on her face. “You will answer me one way or another. Sit down!” She threatened Harry and motioned to a chair in the middle of the room. Harry sat down and Umbridge stepped in front of him just as the door opened and Snape stepped in. Harry felt relief instantly wash over him as he saw the older man, he would be able to help him.  
“You called for me?” Snape snarled at her.  
“Yes, I need another vial of veritaserum. I have another student to interrogate.”  
“You used the last of it on Miss Chang if I remember correctly.” The potions Master replied. “I’m afraid my storage was used up.”  
“Fine, then I have to do it another way. You may go now.” She dismissed him.  
“Snape, he has Padfoot. You-know-who has him in the place where it is hidden.” Harry told Snape with a desperate look in his eyes, hoping he understood his message.  
“What does that mean? Snape what is he talking about?” Umbridge asked the man but Snape acted like he didn’t know what was going on.  
“I have no idea.” He told her but in his head he already made plans to contact Dumbledore. He turned around and shut the door behind him, hoping that Harry would be alright.  
“Fine, then I have to get my answers another way. I’m afraid I just have to torture them out of you.” Umbridge told Harry with a look on her face that told him that she would enjoy it.  
“Harry just tell her!” Hermione stepped in before this could go any further. “If you don’t then I will.”  
“Tell me what?” Umbridge turned to Hermione.  
“Dumbledore has a weapon and we know where it is.” She told the Headmistress and Harry and Hermione took the woman into the woods to meet Hagrid’s half brother. 

Meanwhile Snape went to his office and used a charmed amulet to contact Dumbledore. “Headmaster! I got a message from Harry for you. It seems like the Dark Lord has Black and Harry will probably find a way around Umbridge to save him so you should send the Order in.”  
“Thank you my boy. I will inform them.”  
And with that their conversation was over and Snape was left with waiting.

After the Centaurs left with Umbridge Hermione and Harry returned to Hogwarts as fast as possible and met Ron and the others outside. Apparently they fed some of the Weasley prank sweets to Draco and his followers and then fled from the room.  
“How are we going to get to the Ministry now?” Harry asked.  
“We can fly.” Luna suggested and they went to find the thestrals.  
Once they were in the Ministry and found the right room everything happened quite fast. They found the correct shelf but there was no Sirius or Voldemort in sight which meant that it was a trap for Harry but since they were already there they could as well find the prophecy. Harry took it from the shelf once Neville had found it and Harry listened to what it had to say but he couldn’t exactly figure out what it meant. Then Lucius Malfoy was suddenly in front of them and all hell broke loose when they had to fight their way out of there. They fell through a door and just when they thought they made it out the Death Eaters snatched away Harry’s friends and Lucius wanted the prophecy in return for them.  
Harry thought about what he should do. He was curious what Lucius could tell him but he also knew that the man would directly tell Voldemort about it and Harry couldn’t risk that. Plus he already heard what the sphere told him and maybe someone else could help him figure out what it meant. He made up his mind and then smashed the prophecy onto the ground directly in front of Lucius’ feet.  
“No!” The man screamed and went to attack Harry but he was stopped by a white light which turned out to be Sirius who now stood in front of Harry, punching Lucius in the face. All around them the light fought the dark, the Order and Harry’s friends against the Death Eaters.  
Harry relished in the fact the he could finally fight together with his Godfather shoulder to shoulder and they made one hell of a team. They fought everyone coming their way but the only thing that Harry forgot to think about was a surprise attack. Everything happened so fast, he couldn’t even attempt to stop it. Bellatrix was just there and casted the killing curse which hit Sirius directly in the chest but instead of just crumpling to the ground they took one last look at each other before his soul left his body and Harry was alone again.  
Harry felt himself break under the grief and anger he felt and the first thing that came to his mind was getting revenge. He felt the urge to go after Bellatrix and do unspeakable things to her but someone tried to hold him back and after a few seconds he recognised the voice to be from Remus. However Harry didn’t stop struggling against the hold and he broke free, running directly after the bitch that killed Sirius.  
“I killed Sirius Black!” She taunted over and over again until Harry managed to hit her with a spell and she fell to the ground.  
“Crucio!” Harry yelled with conviction and was satisfied when he watched Bellatrix squirm and groan in pain.  
“Well done Harry. I’m impressed.” Another voice whispered behind him - Voldemort. “Now you can finish it. Kill her Harry. That’s what she did to Sirius. Pay her back!”  
Harry nearly did as Voldemort suggested but remembered who he really was and that was definitely not a killer. So instead of focusing his next curse on Bellatrix he turned around to Voldemort but the other stopped him easily. Before the two could start a serious fight Dumbledore suddenly showed up and pushed Harry out of his way to fight the Dark Lord.  
Bellatrix escaped as Harry watched the two wizards as they showed how much power they really wielded and he even tried to help but Dumbledore stopped him each time.  
The fight when on and on and just when Harry thought that Dumbledore managed to scare Voldemort off he felt him entering his mind. Harry tried to react as quickly as possible but because of everything that happened his walls were weakened and the Dark Lord had easy access to his thoughts. He felt his body hit the cold stone floor but he didn’t even care, his only goal was to protect the people he loved and the secretes he held. Voldemort only got a glance of the pain he felt when Sirius died and then Harry managed to show him some false memories while he tried to find a way to push the intruder out. Harry couldn’t risk the other wizard to find out about his connection to Snape so he had to make sure that when he put up his wall he wouldn’t see his mental picture of Snape. While Voldemort watched a false memory of Harry’s `happy´ time at the Dursleys the young man fought hard and with the desperate fought of protecting Snape he finally managed to put up his walls and pushed Voldemort from his mind.  
Harry opened his eyes and saw Voldemort watching him with a scowl on his face when behind them voices became louder and they both switched their attention to them. Fudge came walking up to them and stopped in his tracks when he saw who stood next to Harry. Voldemort just grinned and then disappeared, leaving them behind.

He didn’t talk to anyone after everything that happened. They all tried but Harry would just turn away and and wait until they could finally return to Hogwarts so he could just forget that day.  
After Dumbledore was done with whatever he had been doing, probably some business with the Minister that Harry could care less about, they finally returned to the school. Harry immediately walked away without really knowing where he should go, he just started walking and ignored Hermione yelling after him.  
He didn’t know how long he was walking when he stopped to look up and found himself in front of a door, Snape’s door. The young man contemplated whether he should knock on the door or go back but before he could decide the door opened with a relieved Snape looking at him.  
“Harry! Are you alright?” Snape asked him while he let him into his office.  
Harry began with a nod but he found that he couldn’t hold his tears back anymore. All the pain and loss he had to go through came out at once, the loss of his parents, his horrible childhood at the Dursleys and now Sirius dying in front of his eyes. He felt like he couldn’t take anymore and so he just broke down in front Snape, falling to his knees and beginning to sob.  
Snape hated the look on Harry’s face, all this pain and anguish and when he had to watch the man fall to his knees he rushed forward to catch him. He brought Harry to his chest letting him kling to his shirt and cry in his neck while he tried to soothe him by running one hand over his back and the other through the dark unruly hair.  
“Sh, Harry. It’s going to be alright. I’m here for you.” Snape whispered into his ear, trying to calm the young man down.  
They stayed on the floor until Harry was too exhausted to keep on crying and just held onto the shirt, breathing into Snape’s neck.  
“Are you okay to stand up Harry?” Snape asked the distressed man but Harry only shook his head and clung even harder to his shirt.  
“It’s okay Harry, I won’t let go.” Snape told him because he sensed that for some reason Harry was afraid of exactly that. The Professor put his arms around Harry and then stood up with Harry in his arms who snuggled directly to Snape’s chest. The older man smiled down at Harry and then wandlessly transfigured two of his chairs into a couch where he and Harry could easily fit on together.  
“Harry, what happened?” Snape asked slowly and waited until Harry was ready to talk.  
It took the younger man a while to figure out what to say and to find the right words but eventually he began to speak. “He’s dead.” Harry would have started to cry again if he would have had any tears left.  
“Who?” Snape asked confused.  
“Sirius. Bellatrix killed him.” Harry whispered, nearly choking on the words and Snape pulled him tighter to his chest in a desperate move to comfort him.  
“I’m so sorry Harry.”  
“I’m alone again.” Harry sobbed and a few more tears found their way down his cheeks into Snape’s shirt. “He promised me that I could come and live with him this summer and now he’s gone and I’m all alone again.”  
“Harry, you are never alone. You have your friends who would do anything for you and you have me. You can contact me whenever you need help and I will do my best. And after this summer you don’t have to go back to your relatives ever again. I wish I could tell you that you don’t have to get back to them at all but unfortunately I can’t do anything as long as Dumbledore is your magical guardian. It’s his choice and I’m afraid he won’t let you move anywhere else because of the blood wards around the house which keep you safe from outward influences. The only thing he didn’t think about where the threats from within.” Snape told him.  
Harry looked up at him with a grateful look on his face. “Thank you. I can do this one last time. They are afraid of me, afraid enough to not hurt me anymore. I can life with them ignoring me as long as I have my friends.”  
“Good.” Snape nodded, still having Harry in his arms.  
They sat in silence for a few more minutes until Harry started talking again. “Voldemort was there as well. He tried to get into my head again...well he did get into my head but I knew I couldn’t let him see anything important. I remembered our training and I showed him false memories until I could just push him out. I did it, thanks to you I could just push him out.” Harry said proudly.  
“That’s good Harry. I knew you could do it when the time came.” Snape said with a small smile playing his lips.  
“I had to, you know?” Harry explained. “If he would have found out about you helping me and how much you mean to me, he would have killed you and I couldn’t let that happen.” He confessed.  
“How much I mean to you?” Snape asked.  
“Yes, because you mean a lot to me.” Harry looked into Snape’s eyes to show him his feelings for him.  
What Snape saw was a lot more than he thought he would ever see directed towards him. It was love, pure and honest love from a man that he had feelings for as well. He didn’t know what to do but he felt extremely grateful, not just because Harry protected him from Voldemort but also because the younger man was not afraid to feel something for Snape and also show it to him. He pulled Harry into a hug and whispered a “Thank you.” in his ear.  
When they pulled back from each other Harry gazed up at Snape and saw how unguarded the man’s eyes were. He quickly made his decision and then slowly leaned in towards the older man to give him an out if he needed one. But Snape didn’t need it. When he saw the determination in Harry’s face he pushed back the nagging voice in his head that told him that it would be a mistake and closed the gap between them until his lips touched the soft ones of Harry’s.  
Snape’s lips felt amazing on his, they were warm and soft and when they started moving against his mouth he couldn’t hold back a quite groan. Harry pulled the man closer to him and climbed into his lap to make it more comfortable for them both. Snape’s arms slipped around his waist and one wandered slowly over his back while he burried his own hands in Snape’s black hair. Their kiss was still slow but passionate and Harry was sure that he never felt anything better in his life.  
Snape nibbled on Harry’s lower lip, relishing in the small gasp coming from the younger man. He used that to slip his tongue between the parted lips and was met with Harry’s. Their kiss stayed slow and after some time they had to break apart for air, both panting in the other’s mouth, their foreheads touching.  
“I hope you have a nice summer Harry. And we will see each other next term.” Snape whispered after he caught his breath.  
“Thank you. I hope you have a nice break as well.” Harry whispered back before he leaned in for another short kiss. Their lips moved against each other for a short while before Harry pulled back and stood up. He moved to the door, put his hand on the handle and turned back with a shy grin. “Good bye Severus.” He said and watched as Snape’s face turned from a surprised expression into a fond one with a small smile playing the kiss-swollen lips.  
“Goodbye Harry.”


End file.
